Swinglea glutinosa LEAVES DERIVED MATERIAL, ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WITH COPPER SULFATE, FOR CONTROL OF SOUR ROT GRAPES AND BUNCH ROT GRAPES

ABSTRACT

The invention of the present application provides a natural material derived from  Swinglea glutinosa  leaves that alone or in combination with copper sulfate is as good or better than pesticide combinations for controlling  Botrytis cinerea  bunch rot of grapes, and sour rot of grapes caused by  Alternaria  sp.,  Cladosporium  sp.,  Aspergillus  sp.,  Mucor  sp.,  Rhizopus  sp., and  Penicilium  sp. The material derived from  Swinglea glutinosa  leaves, by itself, has better results than any of the pesticide combinations for controlling both, sour rot and bunch rot. A preparation of the material derived from  Swinglea glutinosa  leaves in combination with copper sulfate is better than pesticide combinations for sour rot of grapes, and a very good alternative, instead of pesticide combinations, for  Botrytis cinerea  bunch rot of grapes.

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/466,801, which has one inventor in common. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/466,801 is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Area of the Invention

The present invention is related to how to treat Botrytis cinerea bunch rot grapes and sour rot grapes with an extract material derived from Swinglea glutinosa leaves and a preparation made of the material derived from Swinglea glutinosa leaves and copper sulfate. The extract is described by preceding pending unpublished U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/466,801.

2. Description of Prior Art

Botrytis cinerea affects grape cultivation causing bunch rot to grapes resulting in great losses for wineries. Another winery loss known malady to grape cultivation is commonly called sour rot which is caused by a complex of microorganisms that include Alternaria sp., Cladosporium sp., Aspergillus sp., Mucor sp., Rhizopus sp., and Penicilium sp.

Both, Botrytis cinerea bunch rot and sour rot are hard to control and usually require rotation or mixes of multiple pesticides, e.g., a mix of fenhexamid and sulfur, or a mix of cyprodinil, fludioxonil, and sulfur, or a mix of copper oxichloride, copper sulfate, copper, and sulfur.

Unfortunately, there is no description in the prior art of a natural derived compound that alone or in a mix can diminish the use of the mentioned pesticides for control of Botrytis cinerea bunch rot and sour rot. The Invention of the present Application overcomes these prior art limitations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention of the present application provides a natural material derived from Swinglea glutinosa leaves that alone or in combination with copper sulfate is as good or better than pesticide combinations for controlling Botrytis cinerea bunch rot of grapes, and sour rot of grapes caused by Alternaria sp., Cladosporium sp., Aspergillus sp., Mucor sp., Rhizopus sp., and Penicilium sp. The material derived from Swinglea glutinosa leaves, by itself, has better results than any of the pesticide combinations for controlling both, sour rot and bunch rot. A preparation of the material derived from Swinglea glutinosa leaves in combination with copper sulfate is better than pesticide combinations for sour rot, and a very good alternative, instead of pesticide combinations, for Botrytis cinerea bunch rot.

More specifically, the invention of the present application provides a material extract isolated from Swinglea glutinosa leaves, wherein the extract is used to treat sour rot grapes, wherein the sour rot grapes are caused by Alternaria sp., Cladosporium sp., Aspergillus sp., Mucor sp., Rhizopus sp., and Penicilium sp.

In one aspect of the present invention, the extract used to treat sour rot grapes is obtained by a method comprising.

-   -   A. Exposing bright dark green Swinglea glutinosa leaves in a dry         environment, wherein said leaves are protected from direct         sunlight, wherein the leaves are exposed to air flow;     -   B. leaving the leaves in the environment described in A. until         the leaves turn opaque green and the leaves are brittle;     -   C. breaking up the leaves into small fragments;     -   D. putting the Swinglea glutinosa leaf fragments in contact with         a solvent at least once;     -   E. repeat step D. until the solvent is enriched with substances         derived from the leaf fragments; and,     -   A. retiring the solvent to release an extract.

The invention of the present application also provides a material extract isolated from Swinglea glutinosa leaves, wherein the extract is used to treat Botrytis cinerea bunch rot grapes.

In an aspect of the present invention the extract used to treat Botrytis cinerea bunch rot grapes is obtained by a method comprising:

-   -   A. Exposing bright dark green Swinglea glutinosa leaves in a dry         environment, wherein said leaves are protected from direct         sunlight, wherein the leaves are exposed to air flow;     -   B. leaving the leaves in the environment described in A. until         the leaves turn opaque green and the leaves are brittle;     -   C. breaking up the leaves into small fragments;     -   D. putting the Swinglea glutinosa leaf fragments in contact with         a solvent at least once;     -   E. repeat step D. until the solvent is enriched with substances         derived from the leaf fragments; and,     -   F. retiring the solvent to release an extract.

In addition, the invention of the present application provides a preparation that comprises a material derived from Swinglea glutinosa leaves and copper sulfate.

In another aspect of the present invention, the preparation is used to treat sour rot grapes.

In one additional aspect of the present invention, the preparation is used to treat Botrytis cinerea bunch rot grapes.

In one more aspect of the preparation of the present invention, the material derived from Swinglea glutinosa leaves is an extract obtained by a method comprising:

-   -   A. Exposing bright dark green Swinglea glutinosa leaves in a dry         environment, wherein said leaves are protected from direct         sunlight, wherein the leaves are exposed to air flow;     -   B. leaving the leaves in the environment described in A. until         the leaves turn opaque green and the leaves are brittle;     -   C. breaking up the leaves into small fragments;     -   D. putting the Swinglea glutinosa leaf fragments in contact with         a solvent at least once;     -   E. repeat step D. until the solvent is enriched with substances         derived from the leaf fragments; and,     -   F. retiring the solvent to release an extract.

Objectives and advantages of the present Application invention will be more evident in the detailed description of the invention and the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention of the present application provides a material extract isolated from Swinglea glutinosa leaves, wherein the extract is used to treat sour rot grapes.

In all cases in the present application, sour rot grapes are caused by Alternaria sp., Cladosporium sp., Aspergillus sp., Mucor sp., Rhizopus sp., Penicilium sp., and Acetobacter, sp.

In one aspect of the present invention, the extract used to treat sour rot grapes is obtained by a method comprising.

-   -   A. Exposing bright dark green Swinglea glutinosa leaves in a dry         environment, wherein said leaves are protected from direct         sunlight, wherein the leaves are exposed to air flow;     -   B. leaving the leaves in the environment described in A. until         the leaves turn opaque green and the leaves are brittle;     -   C. breaking up the leaves into small fragments;     -   D. putting the Swinglea glutinosa leaf fragments in contact with         a solvent at least once;     -   E. repeat step D. until the solvent is enriched with substances         derived from the leaf fragments; and,     -   B. retiring the solvent to release an extract.

The invention of the present application also provides a material extract isolated from Swinglea glutinosa leaves, wherein the extract is used to treat Botrytis cinerea bunch rot grapes.

In an aspect of the present invention the extract used to treat Botrytis cinerea bunch rot grapes is obtained by a method comprising:

-   -   A. Exposing bright dark green Swinglea glutinosa leaves in a dry         environment, wherein said leaves are protected from direct         sunlight, wherein the leaves are exposed to air flow;     -   B. leaving the leaves in the environment described in A. until         the leaves turn opaque green and the leaves are brittle;     -   C. breaking up the leaves into small fragments;     -   D. putting the Swinglea glutinosa leaf fragments in contact with         a solvent at least once;     -   E. repeat step D. until the solvent is enriched with substances         derived from the leaf fragments; and,     -   F. retiring the solvent to release an extract.

In addition, the invention of the present application provides a preparation that comprises a material derived from Swinglea glutinosa leaves and copper sulfate.

In another aspect of the present invention, the preparation is used to treat sour rot grapes.

In one additional aspect of the present invention, the preparation is used to treat Botrytis cinerea bunch rot grapes.

In one more aspect of the preparation of the present invention, the material derived from Swinglea glutinosa leaves is an extract obtained by a method comprising:

-   -   A. Exposing bright dark green Swinglea glutinosa leaves in a dry         environment, wherein said leaves are protected from direct         sunlight, wherein the leaves are exposed to air flow;     -   B. leaving the leaves in the environment described in A. until         the leaves turn opaque green and the leaves are brittle;     -   C. breaking up the leaves into small fragments;     -   D. putting the Swinglea glutinosa leaf fragments in contact with         a solvent at least once;     -   E. repeat step D. until the solvent is enriched with substances         derived from the leaf fragments; and,     -   F. retiring the solvent to release an extract.

In one more aspect of the Swinglea glutinosa extract of the present invention, in the method, the leaves must not be broken into leaf fragments that are less than 0.5 mm, since smaller fragments would tend to become a single mass which will become a limitation for the optimal extraction with a solvent.

In all cases where a solvent is mentioned in this application, the solvent that can be used comprises ethanol, methanol, hexane, propanol, isopropanol, CO₂, acetone, water, ethyl-acetate, nitrile-acetate, toluene, tetrahydrofurane, Chloroform, dichloromethane, and others.

Objectives and advantages of the present Application invention will be more evident in the detailed description of the invention and the claims.

EXAMPLES

Four vines of Red Globe grapes were treated for each experiment 6 times every 7 days (each experiment was repeated four times) as follows:

I. With an extract obtained from Swinglea glutinosa leaves, wherein the extract was diluted in water at a concentration of 200 cc of extract/100 liters of water.

II. With a preparation of an extract obtained from Swinglea Glutinosa leaves in combination with copper sulfate, where the extract was used in a concentration of 100 cc of extract/100 liters of water in a mix that also deliver a 1 kg/ha of Copper sulfate.

III. One of the following chosen randomly (according to traditional treatment): a mix of fenhexamid and sulfur (Teldor® 3.4%, 20 kg/ha); or a mix of cyprodinil, fludioxonil, and sulfur (Switch Dry® 18 kg/ha); or a mix of copper oxichloride, copper sulfate, copper, and sulfur (Custdust® 20 kg/ha).

IV. No treatment.

In all cases liquid treatments were made with a 200 liter piton pump equivalent to a water volume of 2000 liters/ha. Powder treatment were made with a dry powder pump. The last application out of six was made 10 days before harvesting.

For evaluation, 25 grape bunches from each of the four grape vines were chosen randomly. There were two factors evaluated: incidence of diseases and degree of disease. Incidence was measured according to the percentage of grape bunches affected in relation of total of evaluated grape bunches, and degree of disease was measured according to percentage of grapes in each bunch affected for the 25 grape bunches. There was no phytotoxicity observed for treatments I. and II.

Results are described in the Following table:

TABLE 1 INCIDENCE AND DISEASE DEGREE FOR SOUR ROT AND Botrytis cinerea BUNCH ROT IN RED GLOBE GRAPES INCIDENCE (%) DISEASE DEGREE (%) TREATMENT* Sour Rot Bunch Rot Sour Rot Bunch Rot I. 31 2 60 10 II. 29 6 56 28 III. 41 3 69 16 IV. 68 14 100 47 *I, II, III y IV explained in paragraphs 0028-0031

Table 1. shows that the best results for both, sour rot and Botrytis cinerea bunch rot was achieved when vines were treated with I. (an extract obtained from Swinglea glutinosa leaves diluted in water at a concentration of 200 cc of extract/100 liters of water). It also shows that II. (Swinglea glutinosa extract 100 cc/100Liters of water+Copper Sulfate) is better than III. (pesticide mixes) for sour rot, and that II. is a good alternative instead of III. for Botrytis cinerea bunch rot when compared to IV. (No treatment).

In conclusion, the use of Swinglea glutinosa derived extract alone or in combination with copper sulfate decreased incidence and degree of disease for sour rot and Botrytis cinerea bunch rot. 

1. An extract isolated from Swinglea glutinosa leaves, wherein the extract is used to treat sour rot grapes.
 2. The extract of claim 1, wherein the extract is obtained by a method comprising. A. Exposing bright dark green Swinglea glutinosa leaves in a dry environment, wherein said leaves are protected from direct sunlight, wherein the leaves are exposed to air flow; B. leaving the leaves in the environment described in A. until the leaves turn opaque green and the leaves are brittle; C. breaking up the leaves into small fragments; D. putting the Swinglea glutinosa leaf fragments in contact with a solvent at least once; E. repeat step D. until the solvent is enriched with substances derived from the leaf fragments; and, C. retiring the solvent to release an extract.
 3. An extract isolated from Swinglea glutinosa leaves, wherein the extract is used to treat Botrytis cinerea bunch rot grapes.
 4. The extract of claim 3, wherein the extract is obtained by a method comprising: A. Exposing bright dark green Swinglea glutinosa leaves in a dry environment, wherein said leaves are protected from direct sunlight, wherein the leaves are exposed to air flow; B. leaving the leaves in the environment described in A. until the leaves turn opaque green and the leaves are brittle; C. breaking up the leaves into small fragments; D. putting the Swinglea glutinosa leaf fragments in contact with a solvent at least once; E. repeat step D. until the solvent is enriched with substances derived from the leaf fragments; and, F. retiring the solvent to release an extract.
 5. A preparation that comprises a material derived from Swinglea glutinosa leaves and copper sulfate.
 6. The preparation of claim 5, wherein the preparation is used to treat sour rot grapes.
 7. The preparation of claim 5, wherein the preparation is used to treat Botrytis cinerea bunch rot grapes.
 8. The preparation of claim 5, wherein the material is an extract obtained by a method comprising: A. exposing bright dark green Swinglea glutinosa leaves in a dry environment, wherein said leaves are protected from direct sunlight, wherein the leaves are exposed to air flow; B. leaving the leaves in the environment described in A. until the leaves turn opaque green and the leaves are brittle; C. breaking up the leaves into small fragments; D. putting the Swinglea glutinosa leaf fragments in contact with a solvent at least once; E. repeat step D. until the solvent is enriched with substances derived from the leaf fragments; and, F. retiring the solvent to release an extract. 